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(Friday 17 March 2023)
In a “significant escalation” of a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions, the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union says more than 1,000 members will walk out at all seven offices in England, Wales and Scotland from 3 April to 5 May. Staff at the Passport Office in Belfast may join the strike later.
The union says the walkout will have a “significant impact” on the delivery of passports as the summer approaches.
(Friday 17 March 2023)
The news follows the breakthrough in the NHS dispute on Thursday, with union leaders representing thousands of nurses, ambulance crews and other health workers agreeing to suspend further strikes while ballots are held on a new pay offer.
(17 Mar 2023)
On Friday night the Department of Health and Social Care said the British Medical Association had agreed to enter negotiations on the same terms as unions representing nurses, ambulance staff and other NHS workers in talks that concluded this week.
(16 Mar 2023)
After three months of strikes, the Government has offered a one off bonus this year of 2.5% for the best paid and 8.2% for the worst paid.
The offer, recommended by most of the main NHS unions, comes on top of the 4% increase already implemented for 2022/23.
This award had come with inflation at over 10% and had sparked the strikes.
#ReformeDesRetraites #64ansCestNon #Pontivy #Morbihan #CentreBretagne #Bretagne
France saw a wave of strikes against Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms on Thursday, causing disruption to trains, flights, schools and even hospitals. Polls show a majority of the French oppose the president’s measures – and analysts say maintaining public support of strikes will be crucial to unions’ chances of forcing a U-turn.
Protestors in France Saturday demonstrated for a seventh day against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform plan, which has been widely disputed across the country since his announcement of the plan in January.
According to the Confederation of Labor (CGT), a national federation of French trade unions, hundreds of thousands of employees, young people, and retirees went on strike and protested in the streets of French cities Friday against Macron’s plan.
With demands for a full inquiry and an end to privatization, protestors marched toward Syntagma Square and the Greek Parliament, where the main body of demonstrators reached the square at around 15:00.
At the same time, the left-wing trade union faction PAME organised a separate rally and march to Parliament over the rail accident at Propylea, attended by labor organizations, federations, unions, students and pupils.
Retrouvez ici toutes les infos et ressources concernant la campagne commune de la NUPES contre la réforme de la retraite à 64 ans !
The unions said in a joint statement that they would call for a national strike that would „bring France to a standstill“ on March 7 if the government „remained deaf to the popular mobilisation“.
The protests are a crucial test both for Macron and his opponents. The government has insisted it’s determined to push through Macron’s election pledge to reform France’s generous pension system. But strong popular resentment will strengthen efforts by labor unions and left-wing legislators to try to block the bill.
(06.02.2023)
As UNISON members continue to take strike action, the union is asking for donations to its strike fund
Nottingham NHS staff taking part in the biggest strike in the history of the service say they are suffering a ‘huge’ impact on their mental health because of their jobs.
Hundreds of nurses, healthcare assistants and clinicians took to picket lines across Nottinghamshire alongside paramedics, technicians, call handlers and other staff working for East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Here are the main public service strikes planned for the coming months, and the dates that these unions will be staging industrial action across Edinburgh.
Nurses and ambulance workers have been striking separately since late last year but Monday’s walkout involving both, largely in England, is the biggest in the 75-year history of the NHS.
Nurses will also walk out on Tuesday, ambulance staff on Friday, and physiotherapists Thursday, making the week probably the most disruptive in NHS history, its Medical Director Stephen Powis said.
Downing Street has conceded that today’s mass strike action will be „very difficult“ for the public.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said it is „disappointing“ that headteachers do not know fully how many teachers will be available for work until later today.
Downing Street said 600 military personnel as well as civil servants and volunteers across government have been trained to fill the gaps in public services.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said a petition of more than 250,000 signatures opposing new so-called “anti-strike” laws will be delivered to Downing Street.
French protesters launched a new push Tuesday to pressure President Emmanuel Macron into dropping a pension reform plan, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets in bigger crowds than those seen on the previous day of rallies on January 19.
From tiny islands to major cities, demonstrators poured into France’s streets Tuesday in the latest clash of wills with the government over its plans to push back the retirement age. Labor unions aimed to mobilize more than 1 million demonstrators in what one veteran left-wing leader described as a “citizens‘ insurrection.“
– More than a million people took to the streets across France to protest against the Macron government’s plans to reform the pension system, of which a proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is among the most controversial. Macron insists the reform is needed to reform a moribund system – but some of the government’s own experts have said the pension system is in relatively good shape and would likely eventually return to a balanced budget even without reforms.
– The interior ministry said some 1.2 people protested across France, 80,000 of them in Paris. Union organisers, however, estimated the number at 2 million, with 400,000 protesting in Paris.
Rachel Harrison, GMB National Secretary, said:
“GMB’s ambulance workers are angry. In their own words ‘they are done’.
„Our message to the Government is clear – talk pay now.
“Ministers have made things worse by demonising the ambulance workers who provided life and limb cover on strike days – playing political games with their scaremongering.
“The only way to solve this dispute is a proper pay offer.
Jade McCauley was due to start a completely new job tomorrow which would have bumped her yearly salary up by £8,000.
However, the community nurse at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield had a change of due to her passion for helping patients.
The 34-year-old spoke to the Mirror on the picket line outside the hospital today.
She also raised concerns about patient safety and called on Rishi Sunak to „spend a day in our shoes“.
A meeting held this morning with Health Secretary Stephen Barclay was described as „constructive“ by one doctors‘ union leader. But Professor Philip Banfield, chair of council at the British Medical Association (BMA), said there was no mention of one-off payments for NHS staff.
„People can’t get appointments anymore so they put off going to the doctor and when it gets worse they come to us,“ he says.
He and colleagues are also struggling with the cost of living, Mr Mistry say.
„I’m now having to think about how much heating I have on in the house – I have it on for two hours a day now.“
Union leaders have previously argued that walkouts by staff across multiple sectors would constitute a de facto general strike, the like of which has not been seen in the UK since 1926.
Only the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has the power to call a general strike, though its legality remains unclear after laws were tightened in the 80s.
The umbrella organisation which represents the majority of trade unions in the UK has a total of around 5.5million members.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said it would be “slightly perilous” to expect them to be used routinely in the event of strikes by public sector workers.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Radakin said the use of armed forces to provide cover for striking workers would not impede operations, but suggested personnel should be allowed to get on with their day-to-day jobs.
The co-ordinated walkout was called by the three main ambulance unions – Unison, GMB and Unite.
All three are taking action on 21 December. GMB union members will go on strike again on 28 December.
Meanwhile, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members are due to walk out for a second time on 20 December in parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, following action on 15 December.
„I work for a Class 1 railroad that implemented one of the most egregious attendance policies (Hi-Viz) that requires us to be available to work 92% of the time per month,“ he said. „If we take off one day for a sickness, we are required to [work] 14 days straight to gain points back. That is why we are fighting tooth and nail for sick days.“
Dec 2, 2022
President Joe Biden signed a bill on Friday that prevents 12 rail unions from going on strike next week. The president signed the bill to head off a potentially crippling supply chain disruption in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Join Railroad Workers United (RWU), the Independent Socialist Group (ISG), and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) at a protest outside of Biden’s upcoming appearance in Boston. If you are in an organization that would like to endorse this event and is interested in speaking in support of railroad workers, contact:
Nick Wurst, RWU & ISG: 508-335-8633
Paul Bamberger, DSA: 518-860-9378
Day & Time: Friday 12/2 Picket starting 11:30am, Rally starting 12pm. Estimated end time 1:30pm.
Location: Biden will be visiting JFK Library at University Dr N, Boston, MA 02125 for an event. The picket and rally will be held at the corner of University Drive North and Colombia Point, on the parking lot side.
Devin Mantz: I voted no on the contract because we deserve more.
Adam Smithey: It does not meet the requirements for quality of life that we need. We need time to sleep, we need time to rest, we need to enjoy our lives. We don’t have any of that now.
Matt Weaver: We’re considered essential employees, and we don’t have a single paid sick day to use when we’re off. We worked through the pandemic, we were considered essential, and now it seems like we’re expendable.
Dave Manning: If a person is sick, they shouldn’t have to use all of their paid days that they had to earn the previous year before to take a day off.
Matt Morty Mortenson: We’re constantly coming to work sick and exhausted.
Reece Murtagh: We routinely work 14 hours and longer every day.
Matt Morty Mortenson: We’ve currently lost 2 BMWED members in the past two weeks and they might have been here today with us if they would have just been able to rest and reset.
“The Senate cannot leave until we get the job done, and Democrats will keep working with Republicans to find a path forward that everyone can support,” he announced on the Senate floor.
The Democratic leader began the so-called Rule 14 process on Wednesday evening to put a House-passed bill to avert the rail strike on the Senate calendar.
(29.11.2022)
(30.11.2022)
This overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives makes clear that Democrats and Republicans agree that a rail shutdown would be devastating to our economy and families across the country. The Senate must now act urgently. Without the certainty of a final vote to avoid a shutdown this week, railroads will begin to halt the movement of critical materials like chemicals to clean our drinking water as soon as this weekend.
(29.11.2022)
The House has passed legislation to block a nationwide rail strike by imposing a contract that has been rejected by unions representing the majority of freight rail workers.
The deal gives the union members an immediate 14% raise with back pay dating back to 2020, and raises totaling 24% during the five-year life of the contract, that runs from 2020 through 2024. It also gives them cash bonuses of $1,000 a year.
Few other details of the deal have so far been made public. But the statement from Biden indicated that the major issue that had brought the country within a day of its first national rail strike in 30 years had been addressed in the unions’ favor.
Railroad Workers United is an inter-union, cross-craft solidarity „caucus“ of railroad workers, and their supporters, from all crafts, all carriers, and all unions across North America. We urge union railroaders to continue being active in their craft union AND to join RWU in building solidarity and strength among all rail workers. We work with union rank & file railroad workers, but we welcome yet-to-be organized rail workers as well. In addition, we actively work with other labor and community organizations on issues of mutual concern. We do not accept managers or those who oppose our principles.
More than 115,000 rail workers will be legally allowed to strike on Friday.
“RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy
“Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win.”
The week of planned strikes across the country will impact London Underground (Tube), Overground, Elizabeth line and national rail services across the UK between 21 and 26 June 2022. Only around half of Britain’s rail network will be open on strike days, with a very limited service running on lines that will only be open from around 07:30 until 18:30.
This strike action comes as part of separate disputes with both the RMT over pensions, jobs and conditions, and with Unite over pay.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has told members to prepare to “shut down the rail system” with strikes on 21, 23 and 25 June, after a ballot of 40,000 members last month resulted in staff at Network Rail and 13 train operating companies voting overwhelmingly for full-scale industrial action.
About 10,000 more RMT members in London will also hold a further tube strike on 21 June, in a coordinated move designed to head off possible job cuts at Transport for London and in the national rail network.
(02.09.2021)
According to an agreement signed between the government and these hospitals, they were supposed to receive a 630-million-shekel budget between January and June 2021. Of this money, 300 million shekels were for their routine operations and 330 million shekels were for coronavirus related work. The agreement was also supposed to provide another 55 million shekels a month between June and December. However, the government has only provided these hospitals with a total of 300 million shekels.
Workers at the world’s biggest copper mine, Chile’s Escondida, have approved a strike after rejecting the final contract offer proposed by multinational owners BHP.
Social organizations request that the Army and the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) withdraw from the streets to put an end to police brutality.
President Ivan Duque’s administration and the Strike Committee on Sunday did not reach agreements to find a solution to the crisis that Colombia is going through. They will meet again this Monday starting at 14h00.
„The Esmad arrived to disperse everyone. The people were calm, without doing any damage and they (Esmad) arrived to set everything on fire“, said one of the demonstrators to a local media outlet in Medellín, where the demonstrations were carried out peacefully until midday this day.
The drivers will hold demonstrations outside the economy and transport ministries in Rome and in several other cities. They will display a banner at Rome’s Termini train station saying: „Taxi Strike Today. We apologise to users but we don’t even have money for fuel any more“.
Israel’s social workers – currently involved in indefinite strike action – have attempted to block Jerusalem’s Light Rail as they continue to protest work and conditions.
Scores, if not hundreds, gathered on and around the tracks in downtown Jerusalem, preventing trains in both directions from leaving their stations.
Starting at 10:00 am, the Uruguayans began a four-hour national strike while citizens gathered in the vicinity of the Legislative Palace.
Colombia’s largest cities Friday are the scene of protests against President Ivan Duque performed by students, teachers, and truck drivers.
Protesters and organizations continue to strike against the policies implemented by Duque and the resurgence of violence in the country. On Nov. 21, as millions of Colombians, took to the streets to hold the biggest protest against Duque since he came to power in Aug. 2018.
Besides being harmed by a government that keeps their salaries low, Brazilian teachers are being affected by budget cuts that deteriorate educational infrastructure and materials.
In the last few hours, in the capital of the country, a threatening pamphlet by the self-styled ‚Black Eagles‘ began to circulate threatening the promoters and defenders of the marches supporting the national strike.
For the first time in the last 20 years, all major teacher unions will join their forces to reject budget cuts.
Macron’s assault on living standards and liberty cannot be ignored any longer.
Nurses said they would remain on strike until they reach a fair and non-discriminatory solution to the requests made by their union while accusing the government of treating them like „animals.“
Police have used teargas, water cannons and batons against protesting firefighters in Paris. Thousands of firefighters attended the demonstration in the French capital, asking for an increase in their hazard bonus, which has not changed since 1990
France’s hardleft trade unions on Friday threatened industrial action for months to come, as they searched for a way to force President Emmanuel Macron to ditch the biggest overhaul of the country’s pension system since World War II.
France’s General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Unitary Federation of Trade Unions (FSU) and other organizations called on citizens to join the 51st day of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform.
(08.02.2018)
A government bid to cut back pensions has pitched France into its longest strike in decades. But as one railworker organizer tells Jacobin, the dispute is about more than retirement insurance — it’s about stopping Emmanuel Macron’s whole agenda.
Vidéo complète : https://www.facebook.com/cerveauxnondisponibles/videos/2585958411689021
Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the France Unbowed (LFI) party, added on Twitter: „These are not (New Year) wishes but a declaration of war to the millions of French who refuse his reform.“
Already another day of mass protests is set for January 9, when teachers, dockers, hospital workers and other public sector employees are expected to join transport workers by striking for the day.
Energy workers have also called for a three-day blockade of the country’s oil refineries and fuel depots starting January 7, raising the spectre of petrol shortages.
As nationwide strikes continue in France against President Emmanuel Macron’s signature pension reform, unions are planning mass demonstrations on Tuesday in a pre-Christmas push to get the government to withdraw its reform plan altogether.
Transport systems were paralyzed for a fourth day on Sunday as unions at state railway SNCF and Paris public transport system RATP extended their strike against the changes.
Under pressure, the government held talks with union representatives over the weekend, ahead of Sunday evening’s emergency meeting.
On Saturday, transport remained disrupted, with only one in 10 regional trains and one in six high-speed TGV services running. In Paris, only lines 1 and 14 – both automatic, driverless lines – were in operation.
Indigenous organizations like the Cric from the Cauca province, arrived at the capital Thursday in order to support the workers, students, and campesinos that have so far been the core of the national protests against the conservative government.
The “Red for Ed” protest was the latest in a wave of work stoppages by U.S. educators. In 2018, teachers in Arizona, West Virginia and Oklahoma staged largely successful days-long strikes to demand higher salaries.
Despite the transportation sector declaring an end to the strike, several other major social society organizations of Ecuador, such as the Confederation of National Indigenous of Ecuador (CONAIE), the Popular Front, and the United Workers Front (FUT), collectively announced they will continue to protest throughout the country against the IMF-induced adjustments that also include tax and labor reforms, and other proposals to flexibilize the nation’s economy.
The abiding circular is in compliance with the Administrative Court’s ruling, issued on Sunday, ordering an „immediate“ suspension to teachers‘ nationwide strike following a lawsuit filed by parents, Education Minister Walid Maani said on Monday in an official letter carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra authorized Sunday for the army to join the national police forces to “protect” the key mining port of Matarani, a day before an expected new round of protests against Southern Copper’s ‘Tia Maria’ open-pit mining project.
About 88% of the 4,000 Unite union members who voted rejected a pay offer and opted to strike on Aug. 5-6, meaning that around 2,500 staff will miss their shifts, the BBC said on its website late yesterday.
“Our Police is used to arrest national leaders that strike against the IMF. Today was Omar Delgado and his son, tomorrow it can be anyone. Who guarantees our right to protest?” left-wing legislator from former president Rafael Correa’s party, Marcela Holguin, tweeted.
Peruvian farmers from the Tambo Valley in the central region of Arequipa began an indefinite strike Monday to protest the government’s approval to initiate construction of a major open-pit mining project known as ‘Tia Maria’, granted to United States mining corporation, Southern Copper.
Ecuador’s National Campesino Movement (Fecaol) and workers’ unions have launched a five-day national strike Monday to protest President Lenin Moreno’s neoliberal government, as massive manifestations in the country’s capital and major cities are expected on Tuesday.
The union leader also said that President Mauricio Macri was losing a lot of support among workers of the transport sector following his fiscal austerity program.
„A lot of people believed in this government but nothing changed.“
Low pay for a 14-hour day was cut even further if workers talked or went to the toilet, and bone cancer caused by white phosphorus was common.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH) announced orders to the Honduran military Thursday to deploy to all parts of the country to stamp down the ever-widening protests against the neoliberal policies of his administration. This follows an overnight emergency session with his National Defense and Security Council after a violent night of protests turned deadly.
Teachers and doctors of Honduras continued their demonstrations Sunday against the government of Juan Orlando Hernandez (JOH), demanding improvements in the health and education sectors.
Major national unions and social organizations strike (again) against President Jair Bolsonaro pension reforms, shutting down capitals and cities across country.
Teachers, students, and doctors have been demonstrating for weeks, rejecting the privatization of health and education sectors promoted by the Juan Orlando Hernandez administration. Ending police brutality against protesters has also been added to their list of demands as well as impartial investigations into those cases.
To them, this is the beginning of what will be a wave of mass layoffs and privatization of the systems. JOH has also been trying to push privatization via Employment and Economic Development Zones, which activists have warned, would put parts of the country up for sale.
A new criminal code that went into effect May 15 criminalizes demonstrations in the broadest terms with up to four years in prison and 15 years for leaders or promoters. It also establishes a prison term of 3 to 10 years for carrying out abortions.
(16.05.2019)
Argentina’s government-controlled carrier Aerolineas Argentinas said on Sunday it canceled all flights scheduled for Tuesday due to a nationwide strike by labor unions opposed to the austerity program of President Mauricio Macri.
Workers, farmers, teachers, students, and pensioners are staging a nationwide „Peace and Justice“ strike to reject President Ivan Duque’s neoliberal policies, supporting Indigenous rights and defending the peace process in Colombia being left behind by the head of state.
This came just two days before Israel´s upcoming election in which the current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term in office.
(20.3.2019) Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders joined thousands of University of California union workers Wednesday at UCLA who are taking part in a one-day statewide strike, calling for higher pay and better benefits amid contract negotiations.
Across the world, teachers in dozens of countries across five continents are taking part in a strike movement of unprecedented international proportions.
In advanced and underdeveloped countries alike, teachers are fighting for the same cause: the defense of public education. They belong to the same class—the working class—and they confront the same enemies: the governments and corporations who demand privatization and cuts as well as the trade unions who isolate and betray.
Nearly 30,000 doctors and healthcare professionals are refusing to go to work Wednesday and Thursday leaving 600 public hospitals closed in Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Neuquen in southern Argentina and Tucuman in the north.
The national strike and protest was against the privatization of public companies and a forthcoming deal with the International Monetary Fund.
„And now after modernizing these six airports with public money under AAI, handing them over to private hands through PPP route tantamount to an undue bonanza to private players at the cost of public exchequer, besides being totally unjust and extremely unfair which may please be taken note of,“ reads the letter.
This is a new episode of mobilizations against a neoliberal agenda coming from the government of President Lenin Moreno, who was elected to continue with the Citizen’s Revolution, previously lead by former President Rafael Correa.
Depuis de nombreux mois, les salarié-es, les retraité-es, les privé-es d’emploi et la jeunesse se mobilisent dans notre pays. Depuis la fin de l’année 2018, le mouvement dit des Gilets jaunes mobilise les attentions et révèle un regain de confiance en l’action collective. La démultiplication des mobilisations s’oppose à la profonde injustice sociale et exige une autre répartition des richesses créées par le travail… Retrouvez dans cet article la carte des mobilisations pour le 5 février.
The hard left CGT union has called for a national day of strikes and demonstrations on Tuesday in France in response to the national consultation launched by the government and to the ongoing „national crisis“.
The court called on teachers to return to work on Tuesday, declaring that the strikers, not the government, were threatening the future of their students who are due to sit annual examinations. Later that day, 3,000 teachers were detained and their protests broken up by police. They were held in various halls for several hours and then released.
Tunisia is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund to freeze public sector wages as part of reforms to help reduce the country’s budget deficit.
Local officials said the latest victim, a man aged about 60, was hit by a truck near a motorway where demonstrators had been gathering.
Tens of thousands of Los Angeles teachers and their supporters converged in a rally and march in downtown Los Angeles Saturday to demand better pay, smaller class sizes and increased funding for the 640,000 students in the second-largest school district in the United States. The demonstration, which involved up to 50,000 protesters, was the latest indication of the resumption of resistance by educators who, earlier this year, were involved in the largest strike wave by teachers in decades.
The interior minister said around 69,000 police were active on Saturday with a reinforced presence in the cities of Toulouse, Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne.
A police source told Reuters some 16,000 protesters had been counted in France, excluding Paris, by 11am Irish time, compared to 22,000 at the same time on December 8th.
For today (Friday December 14) and Tuesday December 18, unions called for strikes across several industries, including air traffic control, transport, and education. The call read: “We must act for an immediate increase in salaries, pensions and social protection.”
The unions the FSU, Solidaires, SUD and UNEF have also joined the movement.
As part of a strike that began on Oct. 11, Colombian university students mobilize to reject violence against social leaders and rights defenders.
Greek journalists walked off work for 24 hours Tuesday ahead of a broader nationwide strike that is expected to cripple transport services as austerity-weary labor unions press for salary and pension raises and tax cuts. No news programs were being broadcast on TV and radio, while newspapers will not be printed on Wednesday, the day of the strike called by GSEE, the country’s biggest labor union.
Argentina’s state-owned airline Aerolineas Argentinas said on Friday that it had canceled all flights scheduled for Monday due to a strike called by pilots and other personnel, just days before the country is to host a meeting of the G20, Reuters reported.
More than 370 flights, affecting 40,000 travelers, have been scratched from the schedule, Aerolineas [AERA.UL] said in a statement.
Drivers from Uber and Taxify, who have likened their working conditions to slavery, downed tools on Monday and urged users to seek alternative transport.
The Colombian Federation of Education Workers (Fecode) announced Wednesday, in the context of nationwide protests led by public university students, professors, and directors who are demanding an increase in their budget, that they will also go on strike.
United Parcel Service Inc.’s union ratified a five-year labor agreement for employees — even though a majority of members who voted turned it down.
The 54 percent “no” vote wasn’t enough to block the deal under union rules since less than half the membership turned out to cast ballots, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in an emailed statement.
Shops across Argentina were shuttered and the streets in the capital, Buenos Aires, were quiet on Tuesday after the country’s largest union called a 24-hour strike to protest President Mauricio Macri’s handling of the economy, which has been racked by runaway inflation.
The protest call was answered by unions, campesino, indigenous and other student organizations, such as the Campesino Unity Committee (CUC) and the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA), in different departments of the country.
„The retaliation and repression was instantaneous and constant. Leaders were picked off, one by one, and thrown into solitary in anticipation of the strike that was coming.“
Nearly 80,000 students in Washington state were unable to attend the first day of school this week as thousands of teachers went on strike seeking higher salaries, teacher’s unions said.
On Monday teachers in the Buenos Aires province announced they will start a three-day strike on Tuesday after salary negotiations between the government and teachers’ unions broke down last week.
Prisoners across the United States, which is home to the world’s largest prison population, went on strike in at least 17 states Tuesday. Prisoners are refusing to work, holding sit-ins and going on hunger strike from August 21, the 47th anniversary of the murder of Black Panther member, George Jackson, by correctional officers in San Quentin, until September 9, which marks the 47th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising for humane conditions and fundamental sociopolitical rights.
A group of Irish Ryanair pilots will strike along with those in up to four European countries next Friday.
(24.Juli) The Unite trade union claimed that strike action had shut down Total’s Alwyn, Dunbar and Elgin rigs in the North Sea.
Regional officer John Boland said 44 workers across the three Total rigs had gone on strike in a 6am dispute over pay and working hours.
Norkin’s announcement, made at a conference in Israel for air force commanders from 20 countries, was planned for maximum exposure. It was a message to Israel’s adversaries in the region that the IAF now has “stealth” capabilities and is the first air force in the Middle East flying aircraft that are capable of evading radar systems and of operating in hostile environments, virtually undetected.
“We have no operational reporting of a U.S.-led coalition strike against pro-Syrian regime targets or forces,” Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told Reuters.
Another Pentagon spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “We have no information to substantiate those reports.”
Public services workers across France have staged a fresh round of strike to protest government plans to reform labor laws, which entails cutting tens of thousands of jobs in the upcoming years.
The protest follows walkouts in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Colorado and Arizona. Many students, parents and other workers also joined the demonstration. The ongoing wave of teacher strikes is part of an upsurge in working class struggle across the US and internationally since the start of 2018.
North Carolina the sixth state in which teachers’ have publicly protested to bring attention to the state of education in the United States.
The strikes aren’t just about pay. They’re a rejection of tax cuts for the wealthy and a rallying cry for public goods and services.
French rail unions stepped up their strike action on Monday – the 18th day of the ongoing industrial action – which left rail services severely disrupted around the country. Strikers blocked train depots and access to offices for non-striking work
The Secretary-General followed with utmost concern reports overnight of missile launches from Syria targeting Israeli positions and retaliatory strikes by the Israel Defense Forces, that followed earlier strikes in Syria on Tuesday, 8 May. He notes with relief today’s partial normalization of the situation.
The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) has maintained contact with the Syrian Arab Armed Forces and Israel Defense Forces, urging both parties to exercise maximum restraint and abide by their obligations under the Disengagement of Forces Agreement.
The Secretary-General urges for an immediate halt to all hostile acts and any provocative actions to avoid a new conflagration in the region already embroiled in terrible conflicts with immense suffering of civilians.
Russia calls on Israel and Iran to show restraint in their standoff and to resolve their differences by diplomatic means only, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters on Thursday.
The Israeli military said it „views this event with great severity and remains prepared for a wide variety of scenarios.“
It is not the first time that Kisweh has been targeted. In December, Israel reportedly bombed military positions in the area south of Damascus, including a weapons depot.
Since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011, Israel has repeatedly targeted positions of the Syrian army and the Lebanese Hezbollah terror group backing it inside the country.
The Syrian Arab News Agency has released dramatic security camera footage showing the moment air defenses brought down an Israeli missile in the al-Kisweh area about 12 km southwest of the capital.
(24.4.2018) Space electronic warfare Capt. Andrew „Ghost“ Harris and space weapons officer Capt. Ryan „Pippin“ Foster have an urgent task—to make sure the coming allied strike takes full advantage of U.S. satellites in orbit.
“For something of this scale, this is one of—if not the—first time we have had space guys directly involved in the planning, influencing that mission, and developing effects specifically designed to support its execution,” says Morgan. “I’ve been involved in the Air Force for 24 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Overnight attack comes with Pompeo in the region, Netanyahu and Trump on the phone, Liberman in the US, and the US Army CENTCOM chief having visited without fanfare last week
All four major unions are contesting a reform which is the biggest since nationalisation of the railways in the late 1930s and seen as a test of Macron’s determination to pursue a far broader raft of reforms during a term that runs to 2022.
“We told them where our red lines were, including the geographical red lines,” Lavrov told Russian state television. “The results have shown that they haven’t crossed those lines.”
Moscow had warned the U.S. before the strike that it could hit back if the U.S. actions jeopardize Russian servicemen in Syria, and the allies had given Russia an advance warning to make sure no Russians were in the line of fire.
Published on Apr 16, 2018
An anti-war protest is held outside the British Parliament shortly after an address by Prime Minister Theresa May setting out her justification for strikes on Syrian chemical weapons facilities.
Pro-Peace/Anti-War Protest NYC 4/15/2018 with Natives drumming and singing #Syria #Yemen #Korea #SyrianStrikes #EndAllWars #BanNukes #PeaceNow #NoMoreWars #Natives #StandingRock
(15.4.2018) Protesters gathered in front of the White House in Washington and Union Square, New York City on Saturday to protest against the US-led airstrikes in Syria. Many of the protesters were holding banners and flags against the war on Syria while others used words of civil right activist Martin Luther King Jr., a week after the fiftieth anniversary of his death.
(16.4.2018) MPs should not vote on strikes as they can’t be given sensitive intelligence, cabinet minister says
Some analysts hope that the western airstrikes can bring the parties to a peace deal. Here is Marc Pierini of Carnegie Europe.
„Russia has been carefully warned, it has sheltered its staff and equipment, and so it is to be hoped that these strikes, which are in no way an aggression against Russia and not even against the Assad regime, also serve to give the signal that it would be time after 7 years of an atrocious war to talk politics and talk about a settlement of the conflict.“
The U.S. tried to shame Merkel’s government into helping in Syria, arguing that Germany of all nations should be appalled by the use of chemical weapons on civilians, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be named discussing strategy.
Appearing in a two-hour live broadcast on French television BFM and online investigative site Mediapart, the 40-year-old leader said the U.S., Britain and France had “full international legitimacy to intervene” in order to enforce international humanitarian law.
The allies fired missiles early Saturday at three chemical-weapons facilities in Syria to punish the regime for the alleged use of chemical weapons in the town of Douma.
“It was retaliation, not an act of war,” Macron said in justifying the operation a day before the French parliament was set to debate it.
(13.4.2018) “A pinpointed, limited action to punish and hopefully deter Assad from doing this again is appropriate, but the administration has to be careful about not getting us into a greater and more involved war in Syria,“ Schumer said in a statement Friday night.
Schumer supported the president’s strikes on Syria last April.
Mattis, Dunford, Brief Press Regarding Syria Strike DC, UNITED STATES 04.13.2018 Courtesy Video DoD News
(today)
(13.3.2018)
PARIS — French defense minister says Russia was warned ahead of joint US, UK, French military attacks on Syria.
„A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now underway,“ President Trump said in an address to the nation.
Explosions were reported near the Syrian capital Damascus.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed British involvement, saying there was „no practicable alternative to the use of force“.
„A short time ago, I ordered the U.S. Armed Forces to launch precision strikes on targets associated with the chemical weapons capabilities of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad,“ the president said from the White House.
„A combined operation with the armed forces of France and the United Kingdom is now under way,“ he continued.
To be sure, defenders have their strongest argument in the U.S. Constitution. But even there, the strikes were unconstitutional.
The Constitution only grants to the president the power as commander in chief to „suppress insurrections and repel invasions.“ Yet without an insurrection or invasion, Congress has the power to declare war, and the Framers intended this power to be Congress’ alone: „All legislative powers herein granted [including to declare war] shall be vested“ in Congress.
Asked about the Russian statement, an Israeli military spokesman said he had no immediate comment.
Israel had attacked the T4 base near Homs twice in the past, destroying an Iranian drone control center and communications systems.
The Syrian air defenses destroyed five guided missiles. Three missiles reached the western part of the airfield. No Russian advisers are among the casualties
Fear of nationwide protests before the anniversary of the May 1968 uprising is gripping the Élysée Palace with strikes spreading across the public and private sectors as President Macron seeks to reform the French economy.